john1

Hi Ira Are you fair dinkum with pH of 5.7? What sort of fish do you have which tolerate that kind of pH? My pH goes down to 6.5 in my mollie tank and I'm worried. Because pH of 5.7 is about the pH I have in my car battery. Check your meter. It might need a certain service overhaul, called rubbishbin. Or if you use the conventional method it might need replenishing. Aaaaaaaaaagggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.......5.7 John

Hi Kellz Bought 4 Clowns from the local FS. They swam up and down the tank, like clowns do. Ate well and looked healthy. 1 week later they all died. Shop owner said, his also died. Replaced one. Got another one from a different shop. Had then for a couple of months then they behaved strangely. They were lying either sideways or even upside down for hours. Looked dead. when I approached the tank they up-righted themselves and swam away like nothing happened. LFS said thats normal. Not to me. Had clowns for years, but they never behaved like that. I lost those two also. But so did I lose the whole tank. Sad, but what can you do. Fish die all the time, all over the world. But it only hits you when it happens to you. One has to take the good with the bad. Out of all the different fish I had, all I have left is Mamma mollie, and her youngs. When they are sold, I'll start afresh. But with all the tragedy behind me, I will still enjoy my fish. John

Hi to all the Cees' and other people who lack a sense of humour. All I did in my innocence, was, read posts. Then I happened to click on the home page of a certain person. Nothing wrong with that, is there? To my surprise I see a blank page with "Hello World" on it. I found this funny. Big mistake again. One should not find anything funny unless one looks it up in the dictionary first My remark was made just at the spur of a humorous moment. And not to 'wound' you or make you the butt of ridicule. But if you can't take a simple joke without resorting to study dictionaries and encyclopaedias, the I will sincerely appologise. John

Hi Cees Went to your personal website. Absolutely amazed. The layout, the colour, the concept. I'm speechless. One day, when you have time you have to show me how to do that. Did you use Frontpage or Dreamweaver?. Congratulations John

Hi Kellz You said you've got 2 x 20W. Strange for a 200l tank. According to the liters, it should be a 4 footer. According to the wattage, they are 2 footer. Usually 10W per foot. It also depends on the depth. Some books recommend 3 tubes. But you should have at least 2 tubes the length of your tank John

Hi there. It is a long time since I was on this post. I have an electronic, permanently mounted temperature gauge. When I do a water change I use a portable with a long flexible probe. I can mesure any part of the tank. If it differs too much, which is seldom the case, I take the average. Then the water I add has the same temperature as the tank. I syphon the water from a container on top of the tank. It is a bit slow, but not detrimental to the fish regarding the flow. Takes about 3 to 4 minutes. And don't have to hold the hose because it is clamped on the container and the tank. Have a smoke while it fills. John

Hi Pegasus Read you article about brineshrimp eggs. Found a shop which charges $7.50 a vial. Hatch rate almost 100% at 27 deg. Supply for 3 days, 5 to 6 times a day. The amount which is produced has to be harvested or they will suffocate. I use the little hatchery with a net-bottomed funnel. It can be viewed on http://home.iprimus.com.au/john1 in "Workshop". John PS. Hatching time is also around 16 to 18 hrs at 27 deg.

Hi Kellz As with most filters, especially cannister ones, you never change all media. Change only half, the other half has the good bacteria. The next filterchange you replace the old one. The recently replaced media should have enough good bacteria on/in it. The biological filter should be treated the same way. Once a week I put my hand to the outlet of my filterhose. If I feel a strong movement I leave it alone. I only change it if it becomes a more or less trickle. Hope this helps a bit. Greetings John

Hi Everyone I have to disagree with Warren. When I bought my Fluval 204, I was sceptical. After about 5 months running, without any hiccups, I can only say it is a good filter. Oh yes, there are better ones. But I am happy with mine. As for priming, a few pumps, wait until the cannister is filled, then switch on with a few more pumpstrokes and there she blows. Quiet as a church-mouse. The only time it stopped was, when I put co2 into the inlet pipe. The impeller chamber filled with co2, subsequently the pumping action stopped. And Caryl, vaseline is a good idea. When I have not got any, I use, don't laugh, spittle. It works. The hose connectors and lid, which have 'O' rings, should never be put on dry. They can be damaged. Greetings John

Hi Mitsi Can you be more specific reg the measurment about your tank? I've got a 3' tank, which is 40cm tall. And it holds 125l. According to your tank's height of 71cm, it must be a very narrow one. According to your height you probably need much more wattage to reach the bottom. John

Hi Ira Take a quantity of water, test it, then go to a mate or a shop (with the testwater) , which sells pH meters and do a comparison. Then you find out immediately. John

Hi Everyone I used Chris's idea reg. the DIY u/g filter. Had it running for a week. Seems to work well. I just saw a commercial u/g filter to be used in any container. The bottom grate 8" round and has a riserstem. Bit more effective. just in case you are interested. John

Hi Ira It is also possible the electrode is old. Used up in a word John

Hi Ira Bought one from Dick Smith. Around $100. Could not get a steady reading. Went back to Dick Smith and the fellow there could also not get a steady reading. After about 20 minutes trying, he opened another box. Same thing. So I bought the waterproof, automatic calibrating one for $190, he gave it to me for $170. And I never look back. The cheap one has a resolution of 0.01!!, which is ridiculous for a cheap model. Mine has a resolution of 0.1, which is damn good enough for me. The electrode is easy to replace, whereas the cheap model is not. John

Hi Kellz There are some people who don't mind green water. Then you read about people and ads regarding their filters being able to polish water! What is it now, green water or crystal clear polished water? I prefer a clear tank. The algae itself is not bad. But, if that algae dies god help you. The whole tank will be a toxic potion. And quite deadly to fish. Do your best to control it. Some people are annoyed by a bit of algae on ther glass. They purchase either a scraper, or a magnetic cleaner. If you use your tank as a display piece keep it crystal clear. John

Hi Caryl You said you would like a permanent connection. Do you mean ADSL? Bacause if you do then it is even more dangerous reg invasion. Unless you have a good firewall. ADSL uses the same ip address all the time. Whereas a dial-up modem changes the ip address to a different one each time you dial up. Far more difficult to hack. John

Hi My missus just bought a tank outfit. Tank, stand light gravel. NO u/g filter. and a RIO 200. I have not put the gravel in yet. I wait for the u/g filter first. The Rio 200 (internal filter) must be the most useless piece of equipment I ever owned. The tank only contains 1 mollie and fry. I fed for a few days only liquifry. When I tried to change(clean) the filter almost all dirt which the filter suppose to have absorbed is immediately released back into the tank as soon as I turn the power off. The cheapest external/hang on the tank filter is much better than this rio garbage. I would not recommend anyone buying it. My Fluval powerhead with an Aquaclear filter attached is much better. The dirt stays in/on the filter cartridge. Have a nice day John

Thanks Rob The filtercage I bought came WITH filter media AND stem John

Hi Rob I tried the quickfilter too. Works well. But I don't like the re-fill price. How thick do you apply the wool around the inside of the filter cartridge. Wet or dry application? Thanks John

Hi zeta I had a close look at the spots. The do not look like coloured spots. More like 'holes',crater like. I would be worried. John

Hi there Any tank deeper (higher) than your arms leghth is foolish. You cannot correctly set (plant) plants. And as ajbroome said, you cannot pick up the dropped magnetic algae remover. Or anything else for that matter. With a showpiece aquarium, there is also a limit of the depth(width). John

Hi midas Pegasus is right. Mind you, not everyone has a microscope. but if you do and are interested what caused the fish's death, then you need to do it. According to the BAENCH book, amost every suspected fish (dead or alive and very sick)should be disected. There are sites which explain how to do it. So to be a good fishkeeper you also have to be a homemade coroner. Sounds fascinating. I do have a cheap microscope, but my 5 year old got rid of all my slides,glue etc. Useless withouth them John

Hi there I live in Hampton Park, Victoria. The pH which comes straight from the tap is 8.1 (measured with an electronic pH meter). The dKH is almost unmeasurable. So I added "BETTA" water KH hardener. Works. My pH is at the moment 6.9. Before the "Betta" treatment it went down to 6.4, which is a bit worrying. Pegasus mentioned 'dolomite' and the like. Works well if you have it. If not, then there are other ways to lower or increase. With additives. John

Hi Ira You probably know that already,but, try it anyway. Apart from an electronic pH meter I also have an ordianary one. It contains the usual blue stuff AND pH-up and pH-down. It did wonders in my tank John

Hi there I see quite a few of you use rainwater. Sounds good. Pure. But is it. In some parts of the world if you would rainwater, Contaminated with socalled 'acid rain', then you can say goodbye to your fish, and to yourself if you happen to drink it. John